[Interview] Suarez: "Since I retired from the national team... My passion for football has dimmed a little"
Auto-Translated from Spanish: Ovación article.
In recent hours, Ovación obtained a fragment of an interview with Luis Suárez conducted in January for a documentary currently in production about the 2010 South Africa World Cup and the golden generation of the Uruguayan national team that won the 2011 Copa América in Argentina. In that excerpt, the all-time leading scorer for La Celeste (69 goals in 143 matches) became emotional, to the point that he had to pause while answering a question.
"To be honest... It's true that since I retired from the national team... the flame of football has been fading for me (he gets emotional and pauses)," says Suárez, wearing a gray t-shirt and sitting in the living room of his house in the United States. He continues: "You maintain that desire, that passion for football, for goals, for dreams, and you always dreamed of always being on the national team . For different reasons, obviously, I made the decision (to retire from the Uruguayan national team), but since I left, my passion football has dimmed a little, let's say."
Suárez elaborated further on the topic of the Uruguayan national team, from which he retired after playing in the 2014 Copa América in the United States, where he was instrumental in Uruguay securing third place after defeating Canada on penalties in Charlotte. It's also worth recalling that in October 2014, the striker gave an interview in which he alluded to the strained relationship he had at the time with coach Marcelo Bielsa.
"Obviously, playing for the national team is always what you want. Today you start thinking about it, you start turning it over in your mind, and you're close to the World Cup, and if they need you, what do you do? And yes, I'll never say no to my country, I'll never say no to my country. I retired from the national team to make way for other players and because I thought that there came a point when I could no longer be useful to the national team, but, if they need me, I'll never say no to the national team. That's impossible, as long as I'm still playing, as long as I'm still active..." concludes the 39-year-old striker.